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CCFN is an active collaboration of community members, agencies, service providers and organizations working together to enhance the health and well-being in our neighborhoods by supporting and coordinating local food security initiatives and improving access to community health, social services and community-based programs. Join us. It's free, fun and makes a difference! Email the coordinator and receive our monthly e-newsletter.

Friday, November 19, 2010

A few people have asked how far their money can go at TLCC's monthly Pocket Market. In the photo you see what $10.40 in cash (or 8 Pocket Market Coupons) was able to purchase at the last Pocket Market held on Nov 14th. We think it's a great deal!

Low income, Pocket Market Coupon participants buy 8 coupons for $8.00. TLCC then buys local and/or organic produce at a wholesaler and passes these savings on to coupon holders. Cash sales have a small mark-up over wholesale prices. Profits from these cash sales go to support the program.

In October, TLCC asked you what you'd like to see more of in 2011. Overwhelmingly, members chose workshops. Sometime between February and the end of March we will be hosting 2 workshops, 1. Growing mushrooms, 2. Drying fruit and vegetables. I am looking for workshop facilitators. If you or someone you know has the skills, knowledge and appetite to give a workshop on these topics, let me know!Next TLCC Pocket Market: Day: Sunday, December 5thTime: 10am to 1pmPlace: 2290 E 25th Ave, just west of the Nanaimo SkyTrain StationLink: Map to Pocket MarketLink: December winter food calendar "wallpaper" for your computer

Here's a summary of this month's newsletter:

Bella Coola Flood - Farm Fundraiser Film Event

Evergreen Foundation, a chance to give back to a really great organization

Bella Coola farmers were recently hit by sever floods. Due to the realities of the agriculture industry the Bella Coola farmers work off the farm to make ends meet and are thus ineligible for Provincial Emergency Assistance. These farmers are key players in regenerating their local food system and in increasing the community's access to high quality local produce. The community lost over 270 tons of winter feed, livestock, fencing, equipment, tools, heritage seeds, heritage fruit trees, corrals and paddocks, barns, market gardens, pasture, and acreage washed down the river. We depend on our farmers for our food and they are appealing for our help.Grandview Woodland Food Connection, FarmFolkCityFolk, Discovery Organics presentsFilm: Mammalian, Canada, 2010Day: Tues, Dec 7Time: 6:30 - 7:30pm

Frank Wolf and Taku Hokoyama strike out on a 2,000 km Arctic canoe journey through the largest wilderness area in North America. With a sense of humour and purpose, they track down politicians, First Nation chiefs, elders and others living in the few communities that frame the wilderness in order to present a clear picture of the area and the issues that face the land and its people.

The film interweaves the Force of Nature lecture with scenes from Suzuki's life and lifetime – the major social, scientific, cultural and political events of the past 70 years.

In this biography of ideas, Suzuki articulates a core, urgent message: We have exhausted the limits of the biosphere and it is imperative that we rethink our relationship with the natural world. He looks unflinchingly at the strains on the interconnected web of life and offers up a blueprint for sustainability and survival.

Evergreen Foundation, a chance to give back to a great organizationYou may have seen the amazing work being done by members and volunteers of the Cedar Cottage Garden. This was in part funded by the Evergreen Foundation through their Walmart Grant.

Evergreen has submitted a project called Nature Playground to the Aviva Community Fund and they need you to help them succeed. Nature Playground will provide the opportunity for children to connect with nature at Evergreen Brick Works in the best way possible: through food, play and hands-on learning. For more information about Evergreen Brick Works, please follow this link: http://ebw.evergreen.ca/

Help children connect with, play in and learn from nature by voting daily and telling your friends.The way the fund works is that Nature Playground is competing with other projects through an online competition to make it to the final round of judging. Show your support for Evergreen and the Nature Playground by voting here: http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf9748

For those of you who are interested in attending but must travel over 100km to get to Vancouver, travel and accommodation subsidies are available. For more information, see their subsidy application form.

During the leadership workshop you will have the opportunity to find out more about community kitchens, different ways a group can work and how you can lead or start a community kitchen. Learn the history of the community kitchen movement and the effect it has had around the province. Hear about the different kitchen models that run successfully in our communities. Experience a community kitchen first hand! Lunch will be provided. See their poster and share it in you community.

Please note: Payment required upon registration. Cancellations must be done at the latest, 72 hours before. No refunds for no-shows. The workshop may be rescheduled if registration numbers are not met.

About the Workshop:Learn how the fundamentals of Permaculture design can come out of the garden and into all aspects of our lives and community! This two-day workshop will show you the tools that Permaculture has to offer to redesign our social and cultural landscape for a localized, low-energy future. From our personal frustrations and fears to the global challenges we all share, this workshop is your chance to engage your head, heart, and hands in creating a more resilient and participatory response to peak oil, climate change, and energy descent.

What is Permaculture?Permaculture is a system of tools, strategies, and methodologies for designing human systems that function like natural systems. Permaculture presents a way of understanding and taking action in the world that allows us to create a "permanent culture," from farming to economics to education, that is sustainable indefinitely and that becomes more abundant with time.

What is Resilience?Resilience is the ability of a system -- an ecosystem, an economic system, a culture -- to withstand shocks, stresses, and upheavals, to evolve and adapt without losing its basic cohesion and form.